ATLANTATHE HEART OF THE SOUTHEAST

—AND SO MUCH MORE

If you still think of the city as a “regional hub,” you haven’t been keeping up with its ascent to world-class business powerhouse.

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Different cities are known for different things. If talk turns to, for example, a thriving film and television industry, temperate weather, and a substantially lower cost of living than New York or San Francisco, then you must be talking about…Atlanta?

It’s true. Add to those virtues a booming tech scene, strong public-private partnerships, and an airport that provides easy access to every corner of the country and the world, and you have a location that no growing company can afford to ignore.

If you think you know Atlanta, you should take a closer look. In addition to its impressive transport network, the city has cultivated an enviable financial technology (aka, “FinTech”) sector, and has been nicknamed “Hollywood of the South” because of its fast-growing film and entertainment industry. (Fun fact: “The Walking Dead” is

filmed in Atlanta, as have more than 1,120 film and television projects since fiscal year 2007.) The city is home to the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country, while the region boasts household-name giants like Delta, Coca-Cola, Porsche, UPS, Home Depot, NCR, FirstData, and many others.

While other city economies may be dominated by a single industry or a handful of sectors, Atlanta is home to a diverse and multi-faceted array of strong industries ranging from life sciences and FinTech to health care and manufacturing. Beyond its business success, Atlanta boasts an enjoyable climate, a thriving arts and entertainment scene, and a low cost of living, all of which make it a great place to live.

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“Atlanta is a great place for any company. Our low cost of business and living allows companies to have a diverse workforce who can afford to live and enjoy the city, from ballet and opera to sports venues for baseball and football,” says Eloisa Klementich, DPA, CEcD, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm.

The result is that the “Big Peach” has moved beyond economic recovery into a full-throttled and multi-faceted expansion. Boasting impressive job and population growth as well as ongoing commercial and residential development, Georgia’s capital and largest city has some serious momentum, and that means that entrepreneurs need to take a close look at everything the area has to offer.

Welcome to Boomtown, USA

Atlanta’s capital city leadership works with the state to create an environment that works for business. Governor Nathan

Deal and Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed have collaborated on a number of initiatives carefully crafted to help companies thrive. A combination of legislation, economic development practices, business development initiatives, university systems, and other factors converge to create a perfect storm of low cost and reduced regulation with a diverse and highly skilled labor pool.

“We have a culture where business works with government to make sure that we have good policies that are pro-growth and pro-business so companies want to come here, and they can succeed,” says Chris Carr, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD).

Those business-friendly policies start at the state level. Georgia ranks in the top 20

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percent of all states in the corporate tax component of the Tax Foundation’s 2016 State Business Tax Climate Index because of its low corporate taxes. The state is routinely ranked as a top state to do business. Chief Executive named it number 5 in the country in 2015. Area Development magazine named the Peach State to its top spot in 2015.

Fiscal conservativism is a Georgia hallmark, with state law mandating yearly balanced budgets, and Georgia is one of a handful of states to maintain an AAA bond rating from all three major municipal bond rating agencies. The GDEcD has a team of industry experts and project managers who are focused on supporting businesses and helping them expand.

Since Deal took office in January 2011, Georgia has added more than 467,000 private-sector jobs and reached an unemployment rate of just 5.5 percent, while the state’s population continues to grow. Deal credits that growth to reforming the tax code, reducing regulatory burdens for job creators, and strengthening the pro-jobs business climate.

The governor and the mayor have a successful—and bipartisan—working relationship. Deal, a Republican, says that Reed, a Democrat, has been integral to this economic growth, not only in Atlanta but around the state. Reed’s efforts on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, which Deal calls “the most critical infrastructure project in the southeast,” have been invaluable in ensuring that the project is completed on time and prioritized by the federal government.

“Working together, we’ll continue attracting businesses from around the globe and spurring long-term economic growth in Georgia,” Deal says.

Managing Many Moving Parts

One of Atlanta’s enormous advantages is its enviable transportation and logistics infrastructure. Founded as the end of the Western & Atlantic railroad line in 1837, the city was predestined to become a major center of international transportation and trade. Just as railroads changed the face of the nation in the 19th century, airports are doing the same today. Nowhere is that more evident than in Atlanta where Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the busiest in the world. More than 250,000 passengers travel through ATL each day; 80 percent of the population in the United States is a mere two-hour flight from the city. In May 2012, the airport opened its new 1.2 million-square-foot, gold LEED-certified international terminal, expanding access to and from markets worldwide. The airport, which is the largest employer in Georgia with 63,000 employees, offers nonstop service to more than 150 U.S. destinations and more than 70 international destinations in 45 countries.

In addition to transporting more people than any other airport in the world, ATL is also a model of sustainability. In December 2015, ATL became the first in the nation to receive the ISO 50001:2001 accreditation. The award, bestowed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an independent, non-governmental organization, recognizes the airport’s energy management

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systems. ATL is working to become the most sustainable airport in the world. Superlatives are nothing new for Hartsfield-Jackson: the new international terminal won the 2013 Project of the Year award in the architectural category from the American Association of Airport Executives, Southeast Chapter. In 2012, ATL was also designated as the Best Airport in North America from Business Traveler magazine. In 2015, for the 12th consecutive year, ATL was named the world’s most efficient airport by the Air Transport Research Society, the world’s leading academic society in the air transportation field.

Past awards are simply a prelude to future success and growth. “The airport is about to embark on a $6 billion capital improvement plan that will ensure ATL—and the city of Atlanta—remain leaders in the aviation industry for decades to come,” says Miguel Southwell, general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson.

But there’s more to the city’s travel infrastructure than the airport. Atlanta is also well-positioned for truck and train access. Three major interstate highways and two major

railroads converge in the city, which also has a multi-billion-dollar rail and bus system. Atlanta also sits roughly 250 miles northwest of the Port of Savannah, the largest single-container terminal in North America. The city’s public transportation network includes the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), the nation’s 9th largest rapid transit system, regional and express buses, and even a sleek, modern streetcar.

State and city leadership have supported this physical infrastructure by devoting substantial time and investment in technological development, too. Leadership at the state and city level has made high-speed internet connectivity available to most people in the region. Atlanta is also home to AT&T Mobility, a subsidiary of AT&T, which serves 129 million wireless customers and is driving innovation in wireless with integrated services such as wireless bundled with DIRECTV. The AT&T Foundry and AT&T Drive Studio are innovation labs also located in Atlanta, as are AT&T Digital Life® and Cricket Wireless, a no-contract Atlanta-based wireless services provider. Glenn Lurie, president & CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Operations calls Atlanta a “world-class mobile technology hub,” which has contributed to AT&T growing to more than $75.5 billion.

AT&T made the 100 percent fiber AT&T GigaPower available in Atlanta beginning in 2015. The service, which makes speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second available to homes, apartments, and small businesses in more than 20 communities in the Atlanta metro area. Lurie says AT&T GigaPower is so fast, users can download 25 songs in one second or a favorite movie in less than 36 seconds.

“The vibrant Atlanta economy has played a big role due to the climate that has allowed us to thrive and the talent that the diverse community has offered us. Atlanta is on a roll—the mobile economy offers great opportunities to create jobs and enhance productivity,” he adds.

Population Explosion

Indeed, such job growth has been surpassing expectations as the city continues its economic recovery, and that expansion will continue

throughout 2016. Analysis by Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Simon S. Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia in Athens, published in the November 2015 issue of Georgia Trends magazine estimates that the 28-county

Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) will add jobs nearly twice as fast as the national average and that the Atlanta MSA will account for 75 percent of the state’s net job growth in the coming year.

But jobs are only part of the story. Mike Carnathan, manager of the research and analytics division of the Atlanta Regional Commission, the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency for the Atlanta region, says that the 20-county metro Atlanta area expects to add roughly 100,000 new residents each year through 2040, adding roughly 2.5 million people to the area’s population. Jobs, affordable cost of living, warm climate, a rich entertainment scene, and other factors are making Atlanta and its surrounds an attractive area for many.

“The dual focus here is: Let’s grow a more talented workforce natively while still attracting the best and brightest from around the country and around the globe,” he says.

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“Atlanta is on a roll—the mobile economy offers great opportunities to create jobs and enhance productivity.”— Glenn Lurie, President & CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Operations

I N C . B R A N D E D C O N T E N T / AT L A N TA

The secret to attracting those bright minds is the city’s network of universities and technical colleges. “With roughly 275,000 college students and approximately 50,000 technical college students, the talent pipeline is being well-primed with educated, job-ready candidates to fill the growing need for workers,” Klementich says. In addition, Georgia’s robust workforce development program connects private employers with the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and the University System of Georgia (USG) to learn about their workforce needs and develop appropriate training programs.

“The whole issue there, particularly for corporate location questions, is what kind of real wage or what kind of real standard of living are you of fering your employees? By choosing to locate in Atlanta for the same nominal wage, you’re of fering a pretty high standard of living,” says Tom Cunningham, chief economist with the Metro Atlanta Chamber.

Thriving—and Surprising—Sectors

All in all, those factors, along with the requisite funding assistance, tax credits, and incentives the city and state offer, are going to be attractive to companies—and Atlanta has 17 key areas of growth to prove it. Some are well-known, such as tourism and agriculture. With the Centers for Disease Control and American Cancer Society headquarters nearby, as well as the city’s own world-class organizations like Emory Health Care

and Grady Health playing a prominent role, health care has always been an area of focus.

Since its establishment in 1970, Northside Hospital has been an integral part of Atlanta’s health care community. Some of Northside’s medical facilities are located in some of the country’s fastest-growing areas, such as the Atlanta metropolitan area’s Forsyth and Cherokee counties, serving the burgeoning health care needs of those communities.

Northside has more than 15,000 employees, so having access to a deep and diverse labor pool is essential for its success. Atlanta delivers on that front, providing a wealth of skilled, educated, and motivated prospects, says Lee Echols, vice president of marketing and communications.

“The demand for extraordinary care providers has never been greater, so we’re fortunate to offer such an amazing place of employment,” Echols says.

Northside participates in one of the region’s new initiatives to attract new employees: ChooseATL, a millennial talent recruitment effort coordinated by the Metro Atlanta Chamber. The hospital is a partner in this program in addition to promoting opportunities through online and social media platforms, which helps it get the word out to prospective employees. Part of what makes Atlanta such a strong market for talent is not only the diversity of people, but the varied industries that thrive in the city, Echols says.

“Atlanta’s diversity of industries is a significant advantage. While we feel economic effects like any other area, Atlanta’s broad range of businesses somewhat protects us when a single industry dips,” he says.

And when it comes to some of those sectors, Atlanta has a few surprises up its sleeve. A dedicated effort, including generous tax credits, free location-scouting support, and local film offices has helped cultivate a thriving entertainment sector. Film and television companies may be entitled to a tax credit of up to 30 percent of their production spending and post-production in Georgia, either in a single production or on multiple projects, as long as they spend at least $500,000 on producing their projects in the state. Demand has been so high that the state worked with its university and technical college systems to create the Georgia Film Academy, a two-course certification program designed to give students

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a basic level of on-set film production skills, knowledge, and hands-on experience, to ensure that production companies have job-ready candidates to hire locally.

The city’s thriving technology sector includes its FinTech specialization. More than 70 percent of U.S. payment-processing transactions involve a company on metro Atlanta’s “Transaction Alley,” where FinTech giants like Fiserv, First Data, and WorldPay are located. In 2015, Google also announced that Atlanta is one of the select cities in which it is rolling out Google Fiber, its high-speed internet service.

Atlanta also has a strong startup scene, with 33 percent of Atlanta’s jobs coming from startups, according to Klementich’s analysis. With so many startup prospects in the minds of students at the state’s fine universities, the business community does all it can to support startups and keep them in the Atlanta region.

Reed says that his city is one that investors love, too. Atlanta-based companies attracted more than $500 million in venture capital in 2015, he says. And if those companies need additional support, chances are it’s there. The Centers of Innovation provide technical industry expertise, collaborative research, and partnerships to help companies in aerospace, agribusiness, energy technology, information technology, logistics, and manufacturing. The centers typically work with small to midsize businesses that don’t have research and development departments, Carr says. The GDEcD international trade division works with small to midsize firms to help them find new markets and customers overseas through its 12 offices in 11 countries. Of course, the city is also home to many innovative companies, including Microsoft, AT&T, Panasonic, and Home Depot.

“We know of no other state that leverages the assets of the entire university and technical college system for any company, giving them one point of contact and saying, ‘Tell us what you need, and let’s work together to make it happen,’” Carr says.

Reed also keeps his finger on the pulse of the business community through the Atlanta Committee for Progress, which is made up of leading CEOs of Atlanta-based businesses. The mayor meets with the committee quarterly to work on issues that the city and region face. That face-time with the business community has also had some useful benefits.

“It’s important for giving me advice and insight from our business community, but the other thing that we have found is it allows our CEOs to interact and spend time that they typically would not spend together, which makes for a more cohesive and thoughtful business environment in the city of Atlanta,” he says.

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Room to Grow

A who’s-who list of companies have relocated to or expanded within Atlanta in recent years. Athena Health, Carter’s children’s apparel, Pandora internet radio, MailChimp email service, and others have all set up shop in the metro area. The city and state offer a variety of incentives for businesses to relocate, including assistance with site selection, as well as bonds, loans, and other incentives such as grants, conduit loans, and state tax credits.

Porsche Cars North America, Inc., moved its headquarters to Atlanta in 1998. In 2015, the company opened a new $100 million corporate headquarters and Porsche Experience Center. The complex includes a 1.6-mile driver development track, conference and meeting facilities, technical training center, and fine-dining restaurant. CEO Klaus Zellmer says Atlanta has played an active role in the company’s growth. Zellmer says he’s enthusiastic about development in the airport region and points to the construction of the luxury Hotel

Solis as one of the exciting development projects on the 130-acre Aerotropolis site near Jackson-Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. Eighty percent of the U.S. population is able to reach Atlanta in two hours or less through this hub. As a result, the automaker plans to welcome more than 30,000 visitors to the Porsche Experience Center in 2016.

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“As a global company and brand, Porsche needed a home base that could really support our growth and the livelihood of our employees. We found such qualities in Atlanta.” — Klaus Zellmer, CEO, Porsche North America

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Reinforcing its role as an international economic force, Atlanta is attracting more German companies, demonstrating the city’s strong economic partnership with Germany, Zellmer adds. The abundant, diverse labor pool and strong economic climate are just two factors that make it attractive to growing companies. Porsche has grown its Atlanta-based employee base from 35 to more than 400. “As a global company and brand, Porsche needed a home base that could really support our growth and the livelihood of our employees. We found such qualities in Atlanta,” Zellmer says.

Atlanta boasts its share of homegrown success stories, too. One of those remarkable companies is family-owned restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, Inc. which has grown to more than $6 billion since 1967. Even with nearly 2,000 restaurants around the country, Chick-fil-A remains committed to its home city, says Rodney Bullard, vice president of community affairs. From participating in neighborhood revitalization projects to youth leadership development partnerships, the collective contribution of Atlanta’s many strong companies is part of the city’s strength.

“We call that ‘The Atlanta Way.’ The key word is ‘partnership,’” Bullard says.

Coca-Cola was founded in Atlanta in 1886 and employs more than 9,000 people in the state. CEO Muhtar Kent says that one of Atlanta’s greatest strengths is its spirit of public-private partnership, as well as a youthful, can-do energy that makes the city a great home base.

“In Atlanta, we are neighbors with some of the best educational and research institutions in the world. There is also a base of successful,

For more on the companies and organizations cited in this special section, please visit the following:

AT&T

att.com

Chick-fil-A

chick-fil-a.com

Hartsfield-Jackson

atlanta-airport.com

Invest Atlanta

investatlanta.com

Northside Hospital

northside.com/atlanta

Porsche

porsche.com/usa

The Coca-Cola Company

coca-colacompany.com

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innovative companies that attract the best and brightest employees, suppliers, and partners. To me, Atlanta offers an unbeatable combination of positive attributes,” Kent says.

A Vision for the Future

With robust growth projected in business, population, and job sectors, exciting new development projects, and committed leadership at the state and city levels, Atlanta has a bright future on the horizon. Of course, such a hotbed of innovation is also looking at integrating smart technology in the region to support infrastructure, manage traffic, and create a better quality of life in the city. Atlanta is home to AT&T Mobility’s Smart Cities initiative, which is working with the mayor’s office and Georgia Tech to take advantage of the connected Internet of Things.

“Looking at this smart city concept of not only the things that we’ve always thought about—maybe cars talking to other cars—but how about cars talking to buildings? And buildings talking to each other?” Klementich muses. “Then incorporate that with public safety, development, housing, and education?”

Reed sees nothing but growth ahead for his city. In five years, he predicts that Atlanta will not have a rival for the most important economy in the southeast.

“We will continue to hold that position and get stronger; we will be a center for headquarters growth; we will be the center for technology in the southeast; and we will have the dominant transportation hub in the southeast,” Reed says. “So what you’re going to see is a city in a region that sticks to the fundamentals that have really gotten us to where we are.”

“Atlanta’s diversity of industries is a significant advantage. While we feel economic effects like any other area, Atlanta’s broad range of businesses somewhat protects us when a single industry dips.”— Lee Echols, Vice President of

Marketing and Communications, Northside Hospital